81 FR 75143 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 3 Bars Ecosystem and Landscape Restoration Project in Eureka County, NV

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 209 (October 28, 2016)

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 3 Bars Ecosystem and Landscape Restoration Project (3 Bars Project) and by this notice is announcing its availability.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 209 (Friday, October 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75143-75145]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25978]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB00000.LF3100000.DD0000.LFHFJF500000; 13-08807; MO# 4500079713]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the 3 Bars Ecosystem and Landscape Restoration Project in 
Eureka County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 3 Bars Ecosystem and 
Landscape Restoration Project (3 Bars Project) and by this notice is 
announcing its availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days from the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the 3 Bars Project Final EIS are available for 
public inspection at the Bureau of Land Management, Mount Lewis Field 
Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada, during regular 
business hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays. Interested persons may also view the Final EIS at: http://on.doi.gov/1NlY62v.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Erdody, Fire Ecologist 775-635-
4109, Bureau of Land Management, Mount Lewis Field Office, 50 Bastian

[[Page 75144]]

Road, Battle Mountain, NV 89820; or email: [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 3 Bars Project area in central Eureka 
County, Nevada, spans approximately 749,810 acres and includes all or 
portions of three major mountain ranges (Roberts Mountain, Simpson Park 
Range, and Sulphur Spring Range). Monitoring has indicated that 
resource conditions within the project area have deteriorated due to 
past land use activities, causing the BLM to target this area for 
restoration.
    The BLM is proposing a comprehensive treatment program for 
improving the health of the ecosystem in the 3 Bars Project area. The 
proposed project focuses on restoration at the landscape level. The 
proposed treatments range from several acres to several thousand acres, 
depending on specific treatment and management goals and desired 
objectives for each resource. Possible treatment methods include 
manual, mechanical, and biological control treatments, prescribed fire, 
or wildland fire for resource benefit, and other management actions. 
The surface landownership consists of about 97 percent public lands 
administered by the BLM and three percent privately owned lands.
    The BLM initiated the scoping period for the Project by publication 
of a Notice of Intent (75 FR 3916-3917) to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) on January 25, 2010. The scoping period ended on 
March 10, 2010. Public scoping meetings were held in Battle Mountain, 
Nevada, on February 22, 2010, and in Eureka, Nevada, on February 23, 
2010. The BLM received 24 scoping comment letters on the proposed 3 
Bars Project. During the scoping period, 637 catalogued individual 
comments were recorded for the 3 Bars Project EIS. All comments that 
were received have been incorporated in a Scoping Summary Report and 
were considered in the subsequent preparation of the Draft EIS.
    Based on the public comments received during the scoping period for 
the 3 Bars Project, the BLM developed and analyzed four alternatives in 
the Draft EIS; specifically, the All Treatment Method Alternative; No 
Fire Use Alternative; Minimal Land Disturbance Alternative; and No 
Action Alternative.
    The BLM has identified site-specific treatment projects that it 
proposes to implement to restore and manage the 3 Bars Project area. 
Treatment projects were identified through an iterative process 
involving the BLM and other Federal, state and local agencies. 
Treatments would focus on four priority vegetation management concerns:
     Riparian--Treatments in riparian habitats would focus on 
restoring riparian functionality in areas where structural integrity 
(incised channel, headcuts, knickpoints, developments, and diversions) 
and/or appropriate species composition are compromised.
     Aspen--Treatments in quaking aspen habitats would focus on 
improving the health of aspen stands by stimulating aspen regeneration.
     Pinyon-juniper--Treatments in singleleaf pinyon pine and 
Utah juniper habitats would focus on thinning pinyon-juniper 
communities to promote woodland health and removing pinyon-juniper 
where it encroaches into riparian areas and upland habitats, including 
sagebrush habitat.
     Sagebrush--Treatments in sagebrush habitats would focus on 
restoring the sagebrush community by removing encroaching pinyon-
juniper, promoting the reestablishment of native forbs and grasses in 
sagebrush communities, and promoting the development of sagebrush in 
areas where it occurred historically.
In addition to the All Available Methods Alternative, three other 
alternatives are analyzed in the Final EIS. The No Fire Use Alternative 
would target the same treatment areas, but the methods of treatment 
would not include prescribed fire or wildland fire for resource 
benefit. The Minimal Land Disturbance Alternative targets the same 
areas for treatment, but further limits the methods of treatment to 
exclude fire use, mechanical treatments, and non-classical biological 
controls. A No Action Alternative has also been included to provide a 
baseline against which all other alternatives can be measured. Three 
additional alternatives were considered, but eliminated from detailed 
analysis.
    The BLM has prepared the Final EIS in coordination with its three 
Cooperating Agencies: the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Eureka County 
Board of Commissioners, and the National Park Service--National Trails 
Intermountain Region.
    On September 27, 2013, a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS 
was published in the Federal Register (78 FR 59712), providing a 45-day 
public comment period. One public comment meeting was held on November 
7, 2013, in Eureka, Nevada. A second Notice was published in the 
Federal Register (78 FR 67392) entitled ``New Dates for Close of Public 
Comment and Protest Periods Due to Federal Government Shutdown 
extending the comment period to November 29, 2013.'' No preferred 
alternative for this Project was chosen in the Draft EIS.
    More than 6,800 comments were received, of which 6,530 were form 
letters containing identical or similar comments. The BLM identified 23 
substantive issues as a result of the review process. Comments 
primarily pertained to potential impacts to wild horses, preservation 
of old growth woodlands, and protection of habitat for wildlife and 
special status species, including Greater Sage-Grouse. Substantive 
comments were considered by the BLM and changes to the Final EIS made 
accordingly.
    The Final EIS has identified the All Available Methods Alternative 
as the preferred alternative, with treatments and treatment objectives 
that meet previously identified resource management goals. These goals 
are consistent with the 1986 Shoshone-Eureka Resource Management Plan, 
as amended by the BLM Nevada and Northeastern California Greater Sage-
Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment and Record of 
Decision, which currently guides land management activities within the 
3 Bars Project area. These goals focus primarily on wildlife and 
habitat enhancement, fire and fuels management, woodland and rangeland 
values, wetland and riparian restoration, wild horse management, and 
protection of traditional edible and medicinal plants and cultural 
resources.
    The 3 Bars ecosystem provides habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse, a 
BLM special status species. The proposed 3 Bars Project is fully in 
conformance with the September 2015 BLM Nevada and Northeastern 
California Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan 
Amendment and Record of Decision (ARMPA).
    To ensure that treatments benefit Greater Sage-Grouse, sagebrush 
restoration treatments would adhere to ARMPA Required Design Features 
(RDFs). These include avoiding treatments near Greater Sage-Grouse leks 
and avoiding treatments in breeding, brood-rearing, and wintering 
habitats during those times of the year when Greater Sage-Grouse are 
using these habitats. The BLM will ensure proper livestock management 
is in place prior to treatments when necessary in

[[Page 75145]]

order to meet project goals and objectives, which would benefit Greater 
Sage-Grouse habitat.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10

Jon D. Sherve,
Field Manager, Mount Lewis Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-25978 Filed 10-27-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P